Surah Al-Maaida
Chapter 5 · Verse 48 · Revealed in Madinah
“And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so race to [all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.”
Translation: Saheeh International
Listen to recitation
Mishary Rashid Alafasy
Reflection — Ibn Kathir
Praising the Qur'an; the Command to Refer to the Qur'an for Judgment
Allah mentioned the Tawrah that He sent down to His Prophet Musa, the one whom He spoke directly to, praising it, commanding that it should be implemented, before it was abrogated. Allah then mentioned the Injil, praised it and commanded its people to adhere to it and follow it, as we stated. He next mentioned the Glorious Qur'an that He sent down to His honorable servant and Messenger. Allah said,
وَأَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَـبَ بِالْحَقِّ
Reflection — Maarif ul Quran
The Qur'an: Custodian of Torah and Injil
In the fifth (48) and the sixth (49) verse, the address is to the Holy Prophet ﷺ saying that to him Allah has revealed the Qur'an which confirms the Torah and Injil, Books previous to it, and is their custodian as well. This is because, after the people of the Torah altered the Torah and the people of Injil made changes in the Injil, it was the Qur'an alone which turned out to be the kind of overseer and protector which exposed the alterations made by them, lit up truth and reality in their proper perspective. Even today, the true teachings of the Torah and Injil still survive through the Qur'an while those who inherited them and those who claim to follow them have disfigured them to the extent that it has become impossible to distinguish truth from untruth. Towards the end of the verse, the Holy Prophet g has been given the same instruction as was given to the people of the Torah and the people of the Injil, that is, all orders and judgments given by him should be according to injunctions revealed by Allah, and that he should see through the ploy of these people who intend to have him decide matters according to their wishes and take his guard against their evil plans. There was a particular reason for saying what was said. Some Jewish religious scholars came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . They told him that they were religious leaders among the Jews. If they became Muslims, the rest of them would become Muslims too. But, there was a condition to it. They said that they had a legal dispute with his people. They would bring that case to him. If, in this case, he were to decide in their favour, they would embrace Islam. Thereupon, Al-mighty Allah gave him the word of caution that he should never decide against considerations of equity and justice and the Law revealed by Allah because of the offer to become Muslims made by these people - a proposition which was not for him to worry about.
What does this verse bring up for you today?